Greek Tradition and Latin Influence in the Work of George Scholarios

“Alone Against All of Europe”

This title is a study of the work and career of theologian and diplomat George Scholarios who became the first Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church during the period of Ottoman Rule. Scholarios advocated the union of the Greek and Latin Churches, but he later became the leader of the anti-Unionist faction in the final years of the Byzantine Empire. Scholarios played an important role in East-West dialogues, including the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438-39. This book provides a fresh look at some of the cultural misunderstandings that took place at the Council and related dialogues.

This title is a study of the work and career of theologian and diplomat George Scholarios who, under the name Gennadios II, became the first Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church during the period of Ottoman Rule. John Meyendorff has called Scholarios “an intellectual enigma awaiting modern scholarly investigation,” due to his unusual blending of Eastern and Western Christianity. Early in his career, Scholarios advocated the union of the Greek and Latin Churches, but he later became the leader of the anti-Unionist faction in the final years of the Byzantine Empire. A student of western Christianity, he translated large sections of Thomas Aquinas’ theological works from Latin into Greek. Even after Scholarios had ceased advocating union between the two churches, he continued to admire Aquinas to such a degree that he has been called a “Palamite Thomist” for allegedly trying to combine the belief systems of Aquinas and the fourteenth-century Byzantine theologian Gregory Palamas.

Scholarios played an important role in East-West dialogues, including the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438-39. This book provides a fresh look at some of the cultural misunderstandings that took place at the Council and related dialogues. Modern scholars have long acknowledged that Byzantine and western theology held very different views on doctrines as important as atonement and original sin, yet fifteenth-century theologians and diplomats did not address these issues. The present study attempts to understand this discrepancy between how modern scholars have described the fifteenth century and how people in the fifteenth century viewed themselves.

This title is a study of the work and career of theologian and diplomat George Scholarios who, under the name Gennadios II, became the first Ecumenical Patriarch of the Orthodox Church during the period of Ottoman Rule. John Meyendorff has called Scholarios “an intellectual enigma awaiting modern scholarly investigation,” due to his unusual blending of Eastern and Western Christianity. Early in his career, Scholarios advocated the union of the Greek and Latin Churches, but he later became the leader of the anti-Unionist faction in the final years of the Byzantine Empire. A student of western Christianity, he translated large sections of Thomas Aquinas’ theological works from Latin into Greek. Even after Scholarios had ceased advocating union between the two churches, he continued to admire Aquinas to such a degree that he has been called a “Palamite Thomist” for allegedly trying to combine the belief systems of Aquinas and the fourteenth-century Byzantine theologian Gregory Palamas.

Scholarios played an important role in East-West dialogues, including the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1438-39. This book provides a fresh look at some of the cultural misunderstandings that took place at the Council and related dialogues. Modern scholars have long acknowledged that Byzantine and western theology held very different views on doctrines as important as atonement and original sin, yet fifteenth-century theologians and diplomats did not address these issues. The present study attempts to understand this discrepancy between how modern scholars have described the fifteenth century and how people in the fifteenth century viewed themselves.

Essays on Medieval Christian Legacy

This volume contains papers from the First International Congress on Eastern Christianity held in Córdoba, Spain, November 2005. The encounter of medieval Christian writers with several linguistic traditions through the Middle Ages produced one of the most important branches of Middle Eastern literature. This encounter not only changed the nature of the respective writings throughout time, but also influenced considerably the development of the legacies transmitted by the writers and the scholars of various Eastern Christian churches.

In this book the Syriac texts along with translations of the tales of the martyrs themselves as well as the miraculous deliverance of Euphemia are introduced by Professor Burkitt with a commentary focusing on the historicity of the different accounts.

An Ethiopian Perspective

As in the case of the christology of the other non-Chalcedonian Oriental Orthodox Churches, Ethiopian christology is usually nicknamed as monophysite christology - an erroneous christological position which indicates the absorption of the humanity of Christ by its divinity. Disproving such a pejorative designation, this book contends that the christological position of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church should correctly be termed as miaphysite christology, which highlights the one-united nature of the Word of God incarnate. Besides, the book proves the orthodoxy of Ethiopian christology, demonstrating how it is based on the christology of St. Cyril of Alexandria.

Essays on Byzantine and Arab Worlds in the Middle Ages

Twenty-four contributions on matters dealing with Byzantine and Oriental lands, people, and cultures through different perspectives, including history, maritime trade, documents, travelers, and art. These essays trace the history of the relations between the Greeks and the peoples of the Middle East from Late Antiquity up to the seventeenth century.

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